Sugarland is giving fans another taste of their upcoming new album, Bigger, by sharing a pretty *big* collaboration. The duo, comprised of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have shared the latest song from the LP, "Babe," and it features none other than Taylor Swift.
"Babe" is the only song on Bigger that Sugarland didn't co-write, as the track was written by Taylor and Pat Monahan (from Train). The single is mainly sung by Jennifer Nettles, with assistance from Kristian Bush and Taylor, and is all about a relationship gone bad. In the chorus, Nettles and Swift sing, "How could you do this babe?/ You really blew this babe/ We ain't gettin' through this one babe/ This is the last time I'll ever you babe."
In an exclusive interview with iHeartRadio, Sugarland explains how "Babe" came to life:
"It started to get around that we were gonna be working together again; that Sugarland was gonna come back and do something together again. And, when that happened, Scott Borchetta reached out to us, and said, 'Taylor is excited about what you're doing, and she has a song that she would like for you guys to record, or to play, or to hear, or to consider.' You know, all these things. And, we're like, (gasps) okay. We really don't wanna mess this up. So, we listened to it and loved it, and then wanted to do it in the studio to see what might happen. And, luckily, we liked what it was."
They add, "It came out just fantastic. I would not have known that there is so much inside that song until we actually put it in our hands and into microphones. And, we were like, 'Wow.' And, then she loved it, which was then an added bonus. When you play another artist's song, especially for us, that we haven't had another artist's song on our records because we love to write so much. So, to have that, it's a lovely part of the album.
Kristian and Jennifer also talked about their history with Taylor, as the two country acts started out "near the same time." They tell us:
"She was a fan of what we were doing then. And so, to have this sort of come full circle, and to see the trajectory and where she has gone since then, which is just, I mean, stellar. Right? No pun intended as the star that she is. [It] feels so good to then be able to really collaborate and be a part of each other's worlds in that way. It's a feel good sort of thing to be able to have this song on the record."
Sugarland's sixth full-length studio album Bigger is due out on June 8th, and is the first album since 2010's The Incredible Machine. Aside from their Taylor Swift collab, "Babe," Bigger includes ten additional songs, like its previously released title track and "Still The Same."
Sugarland is also set to perform at the upcoming 2018 iHeartCountry Festival by AT&T in Austin, Texas at the Frank Erwin Center. The duo is performing amongst a lineup of country superstars including Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Dustin Lynch, Cole Swindell, Maren Morris,Luke Combs, Billy Currington, Dan + Shay, Jon Pardi and Brett Young, with more to be announced. And taking on hosting duties once again this year will be Bobby Bones.